Recently Awarded Grants

Fiscal Year 2008 / Round II

Iowa Arts Council Organization and Arts in Education Grant Awards

The Iowa Arts Council received 66 eligible Major grant applications for round 2, October FY08. We received a total of $526,198 in requested funds. Of those, 16 were selected for funding, totaling $105,000. Out of a possible score of 44, the highest score of those selected for funding was 42.67 the lowest at 39.33.

Kent Newman
Des Moines
Homegrown in Iowa: Americana Roots Music From the Heartland DVD Production
$8,500Iowa Arts Council funding supports the post-production phase of a DVD of live performances and interviews previously produced during "Homegrown in Iowa: Americana Roots Music From the Heartland." Ten Iowa musicians are featured, including Bo Ramsey, Dave Moore, and Greg Brown; as well as photographer Sandy Dyas and selected photographs from her book "Down to the River: Portraits of Iowa Musicians."

Story Theater Company
Ames
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
$5,700Grant funding from the Iowa Arts Council supports six performances of "The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe" at Ames City Auditorium, January 11-13 & 18-20, 2008 with 30 local children, ages 10-18, in all roles. Designer: Jaime Wood, award-winning theatrical design student at Iowa State University. Director: Kimberly Chelf, accomplished actor & director, also from ISU.

Pearson Lakes Art Center (Lakes Art Center)
Okoboji
"Lydia Pense & Cold Blood- A Residency"
$2,900With this grant funding Lydia Pense & Cold Blood, the San Francisco jazz/rock horn band will conduct a 3-day residency with music students from Dickinson County. Workshops will take place on the first two days. A public performance will occur on the third day. Students will be invited to perform with the group.

WVIK 90.3 FM, Augustana Public RadioRock IslandWVIK Local Arts Radio Forum$7,100WVIK is this region's broadcast forum for the Arts, creating, presenting and sustaining local arts programming. The hallmarks of WVIK's local programming include independently produced shows hosted by well-respected artists and radio talents in this area: Bruce Carter (visual arts), Roald Tweet and Faye Clow (literary arts) and Don Wooten. Grant funding will support this programming.

The Arts Farm
Cedar Rapids
"Show & Grow" Performance and Workshop Series
$7,800Grant funding supports a monthly performance and workshop series in Cedar Rapids. Artists will include Switchback, Orquesta Alto Maiz, Kevin Burt & The Instigators, Flying Foot Forum, and Marc Bamuthi Joseph. Performances and workshops will be open to the public but targeted to "at-risk" students and families.

Merrymakers Association
Omaha
Enhancing Senior Living Through Music
$6,000Iowa Arts Council grant funding supports quality, musical programs with seniors living in care centers and low income housing. Rostered IAC musicians Bill Connet and Becky Livermore and other contracted Merrymakers' professional musicians, will bring songs, memories and laughter to the elderly in the Des Moines area that have limited resources to attend off-site performances and art experiences.

Project Art, UIHC
Iowa City
Illuminated Voices
$4,800University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) Project Art Program will collaborate with calligrapher Cheryl Jacobsen to create commissioned artwork incorporating the phrases, thoughts and poems of patients, visitors and staff that describe the experience of healing. Iowa Arts Council grant funding supports the project, Illuminated Voices, which will consist of four paintings for display in a public space.

Ballet Quad Cities
Rock Island
Twelve Dancers + Three Pianists: An Exhilarating Artistic Collaboration
$8,500Grant funding will allow Ballet Quad Cities to collaborate with three nationally-recognized choreographers and three professional pianists will result in three new contemporary ballets premiering at Davenport's historic Capitol Theatre in February 2008.

Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre
Cedar Rapids
"The Magic Flute" and Young Artists' "The Night Harry Stopped Smoking"
$8,500Grant funding supports Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre for performances of "The Magic Flute" (January 11 & 13, 2008) and simultaneously produced Young Artist performances of "The Night Harry Stopped Smoking" (up to 12 performances in Cedar Rapids Community Schools, local hospitals, and the Iowa Children's Museum during the week of January 7, 2008.)

Westminster Presbyterian Church
Des Moines
War Requiem Project
$8,500Iowa Arts Council grant funding will allow Westminster Presbyterian Church to present Benjamin Britten's choral masterwork, The War Requiem. There will be free performances in Des Moines and Grinnell in April 2008. The project will involve multiple partner arts organizations, engage over 300 professional, amateur and student artists, and is expected to serve up to 3,000 audience members.

MacNider Art MuseumMason City
World Art, World Beat--MacNider Arts Festival
$3,000Grant will assist in funding performances for free two-day Arts Festival in Mason City (June 7,8, 2008) featuring multi-cultural programming to include traditional music and dance of Laos and Southeast Asia, Africa, Mexico and the Middle East, among others.

Civic Center of Greater Des Moines
Des Moines
Freedom Bound: A Learning Journey
$5,300The Civic Center will partner Callanan Middle School's eighth grade class to create and implement a cross-curriculum study of the Underground Railroad, centered around the Applause! series presentation of "Freedom Bound". Project partners will include the African American Historical Museum and Cultural Center of Iowa, Historic Jordan House and the Langston Hughes Players.

Metro Arts Alliance of Greater Des MoinesDes Moines
Green Arts Project: Phase I
$8,500Green Arts is a new project that will provide resources and training to help Central Iowa artists practice greater environmental stewardship in their lives and work. Grant funding will allow the project to identify and employ artists to conduct free public arts activities that use green resources and promote conservation and environmental responsibility.

Waldorf Community Artist Series
Forest City
Waldorf Community Artist Series - Spring, 2008
$4,800With grant funding from the Iowa Arts Council, The Waldorf Community Artist Series will be presenting three concerts in Spring, 2008. They are: Des Moines Opera Co. "Don Pasquale" on Feb. 4, 2008, Ruby Hinds - a tribute to Marian Anderson on Feb. 25, 2008 and North Iowa Choral Society on March 30, 2008.

Art Educators of Iowa
Perry
Visual Arts in the Iowa Hall of Pride
$8,500With support from this grant The Art Educators of Iowa will promote excellence in visual arts education in Iowa by setting up a Visual Arts display at the Iowa Hall of Pride which will feature the art work and story of Iowa's winning All-State art students.

Nora Garda Marcos
Iowa City
Danzas Folkloricas Argentinas
$6,600Grant funding supports Danzas Folkloricas Argentinas, a series of dance workshops to be presented in schools and community centers throughout the state of Iowa in 2008. It will introduce Iowans to the rich cultural dance traditions of Argentina. Participants will read stories, listen to music, watch videos of professional dancers, and most importantly, learn and perform the dances themselves.